Central Route Coordinator News
UPDATED Time Line/Schedule for the morning of Day 4 – Saturday May 21 2022
1030 – STAGING
1100 – All Riders Morning Brief
1130 – Platoon Brief
1200 – KSU
Since we will be missing our lunch stop please make sure you eat before we depart and bring a snack (if possible).
Time Line/Schedule for the morning of Day 4 – Saturday May 21 2022
FUEL
Fuel at Crossroads truck stop 855 Clayton Rd. East side of I-25 exit 451.
0800 – 0810: Advance groups/Road Guards/Staging first.
0810 – 0840: Pack riders (Do not show up prior to 0810.)
Fueling will end at 0840.
STAGING
Stage after fuel on Clayton Rd. West side of I-25 same place as years past. Look for staging team.
0845 – Riders Brief
Caddy-corner from the Tourist information center (Abandoned Texan Motel) on Clayton Rd.
0915 – Platoon Brief
0930 – Welcoming Speeches Mayor & other’s
0955 – KSU
This time line is not normally the way we work but we are working under unusual circumstances. This time-line will allow us to keep the pack on schedule for the rest of the day.
SPECIAL NOTICE: A Jacket was found on the highway about 60 miles out of Santa Fe. We found two key fobs in the pocket. Pictures below.
If this is your jacket please report to the sound stage in the morning with a crisp $5 bill.
Events in Northern New Mexico along the Central Route have led to a very difficult discission. Keeping my eye on the news, fire maps and talking with folks on the ground, the fires burning 10 miles South of Angel Fire and creeping closer, went from 40% to 29% contained. The Angel Fire Resort is being taken over by the Forest Service Incident Command. All LEO support has been pulled from the RFTW and reassigned to the fires. We will NOT BE GOING TO ANGEL FIRE/EAGLE NEST for the night.
Best Western 575-445-8501 473 Clayton Rd, Raton $144.00 plus Tax
Quality Inn 575-445-4200 533 Clayton Rd, Raton
Casa Lemus 575-445-2737 350 Clayton Rd, Raton
Robin Hood 575-455-5577 1354 2nd St. Raton
Microtel Inn & Suites 575-303-4479 1640 Cedar St. Raton
Super 8 575-445-2355 1610 Cedar St. Raton
Travel Lodge 505-738-4180 1600 Cedar St. Raton
Holiday Inn Exp & Suites 575-445-1500 101 Card Ave.
Raton has plenty of rooms.
Make sure you cancel reservation in Angel Fire/Eagle Nest/Red River or any other place you have reservations made.
*Several items need to be finalized and being worked out.
Greetings to all of our Central Route Family!
Since last posting, we have registered about a hundred more riders to our 2022 RFTW Central Route. Hopefully, you are one of them. As of May 1, Registration fees go from $30 to $50. The 2022 Itinerary has been posted on our website’s Central Route Hub. Once again I am amazed at the amazing work our state coordinators have done to put this together.
If you’ve already looked at our itinerary, you’ll see one major change for Saturday, May 28. We will not be going into Arlington Cemetery as a group. What we WILL be doing is meeting with all RFTW riders at the Lincoln Memorial at 8:30 a.m. for a 9:00 a.m. group photo. Following this, we will all walk to the Viet Nam Wall to present our “Mission Accomplished plaque. At that time, any individuals wishing to go visit Arlington National Cemetery may go on their own.
I hope all of you will have your bikes and yourselves in shape within the next thirty days. Remember to start hydrating. You can’t just start drinking water on the first day of the run to stay healthy throughout.
I look forward to seeing you in May. Kick Stands Up in @35 days! Stay Safe. God Bless the United States of America.
Tom “Boomps” Miller
RFTW Central Route Coordinator
Hope this newsletter finds all of you well and eager to ride! On Saturday, March 12, our RFTW Board members made the unanimous decision Run XXXII is a “GO” in May 2022! Our hard working state coordinators are finishing up the last details so that we can get the itinerary approved and published.
IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL registration MUST be done electronically. NO “paper” registration will be done on site. If you register right now, it will cost you $30; beginning May 1, the price goes up to $50.
No matter where you join the run, there will be a “check-in” process rather than a “registration” process. You will need:
Without ANY of these three, you will NOT be permitted to join us. I recommend you take photos of each of these three documents in case of an emergency, as they will be acceptable at the check-in table.
Last month I asked riders who had trailers if they would consider loaning them to us for chase drivers to haul disabled bikes. We had an overwhelmingly positive response, and now have a full complement of chase vehicles ready to roll. The generosity of our RFTW riders never ceases to amaze me.
We have over 330 Central Route riders registered as of this writing, and are 63 days until KSU (Kick Stands UP)! If you haven’t had a chance to enroll in a Riders Training Course, I urge you to find one in your area. As I stated last month, riding in formation is difficult because it requires a higher level of concentration than a normal Sunday Hog ride. Some of you don’t get much riding in the winter, and we missed two RFTW years due to Covid, so this could be a really important safety measure for you.
I look forward to seeing you in May. Stay Safe. God Bless the United States of America.
Tom “Boomps” Miller
RFTW Central Route Coordinator
Hello Central Route Riders,
Belated Happy New Year Greetings to you all!
I have delayed updating my newsletter until I had some good news to report. Our RFTW Board of Directors will not make an official announcement regarding the 2022 run starting in Ontario and going to Washington DC until their March 2022 board meeting. As you can ascertain from watching the news, Covid restrictions are falling away daily. We just watched the Super Bowl televised in California with 78,000 maskless people cheering. This leaves me with a high degree of confidence that Run XXXII will go as planned.
We have 264 Central Route riders registered as of this writing. I believe this is a little under our norm, as many of you may be waiting for official word from our Board of Directors. I have already made my reservations, and am counting down the days until May 18!
In the last letter I asked for a Camping Coordinator. I am happy to report that Steve Andros, our Arizona State Coordinator, stepped up to meet our needs. If you need something done, ask a busy man! Steve wrote up a 3-page description of the campsites along our route, including costs and amenities. Any of you who are planning to camp should be able to access that information on our website, or email Steve at steve@gren-a-e.com.
Traditionally, we leave Ontario with three or four chase trucks, and currently we’re down to two. If you’ve ever had the misfortune of an unexpected breakdown, you know that those chase truck drivers are real heroes. We do have a volunteer with a truck, but no trailer, who is willing to serve, so if you have a trailer you would like to offer for our use, it would be much appreciated. In the years I have been on the run, I had a flat tire, dead battery from leaving the ignition on, and a cracked radiator. I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen to any of you who happen to have a trailer you don’t want to offer up!
For those of you who would like to increase your level of participation, our Staging and Fuel Teams are also in need of additional volunteers. Unfortunately, these positions are not open to FNGs.
Finally, please consider enrolling in a Riders Training Course (mandatory for Road Guards). Riding in formation is difficult because it requires a higher level of concentration than a normal Sunday HOG ride. Some of you don’t get much riding in the winter, and we missed two RFTW years due to Covid, so this could be a really important safety measure for you.
I look forward to seeing you in May. Stay Safe. God Bless the United States of America.
Tom “Boomps” Miller
RFTW Central Route Coordinator
Hello Central Route Riders.
Greetings from Rainy Southern California!
I know most of you think it never rains in Southern California, but I guarantee that it
does! I actually wore my motorcycle gear outside the other day because I had to unplug a
drain in my backyard, and that’s the best rain protection I own! Jan and I are leaving today to spend 3 days in the mountains with the grandkids. I hope all of you have some fun
holiday plans of your own.
Now, down to business! If you have not registered yet, please do so as soon as possible! It
is important that we get our numbers as close to reality as possible, as it affects all our
planning and preparation for the places we will be visiting. State coordinators have ben
working hard to get all of our hotels lined up. It seems they change managers often in
that industry, and coordinators have to reestablish contacts with new players. The hotel
list will be published right after the first of January. When you call, please be courteous
and patient, as hotels will be receiving hundreds of calls from RFTW folks. Remember
each of us represents our RFTW organization, and we do not want to burn any bridges
with our hotel folks.
I am in need of a Camping Coordinator! If you are one of those hearty individuals who
camp along the way, please reach out to myself or Paul Marshall, so that we can get your
name and contact information on our website. At our FNG Zoom meeting this month, we
had a number of questions about camping, and every route is a little different. Please
consider stepping up!
As of right now, the Board of Directors and all four Route Coordinators are committed to
having Run XXXII start in Ontario in May and go all the way to DC. If you hear any rumors
to the contrary, check with a board member or myself or Paul. If it’s not published on the
website, it’s not happening.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I look forward to seeing you
in May. Stay Safe. God Bless the United States of America.
Tom “Boomps” Miller
RFTW Central Route Coordinator
RFTW XXXII 2021 RC Newsletter
November, 2021 FNG Special
Calling ALL FNGs from ALL Routes. Save the Date, Thursday December 16, 2021. Starting at 4:30 PM Pacific Time, the 2022 Run For The Wall Route Coordinators and Assistants from ALL 4 Routes will host an FNG Town Hall on Zoom. This is a great opportunity to find out more about RFTW and get your questions answered. Please send your questions in advance to help us give you the best answer. You can ask your questions anonymously, so feel free to ask what’s on your mind.
An invitation link will be emailed this weekend to all registered FNGs. If you have not yet registered, no problem. Just send me an email and I will be happy to send you the link. If you have questions but cannot attend, please send them along anyway, others may be looking for the same information.
Check your Spam / Junk email Folder sometimes the good stuff ends up there too.
Depending on the number of participants, it may be a bit chaotic. Sometimes unintentional background noise wreaks havoc on the system. I will ask you in advance to mute your microphone unless you are speaking.
We plan to have another FNG Town Hall in late January – early February timeframe.
Hello Central Route Riders.
Greetings from Sunny Southern California!
I just returned from a two week road trip, which included our annual Angel Fire Labor Day Reunion and Service Project at Angel Fire’s Viet Nam Veterans Memorial. During the weekend, we set a record for the largest number of bricks laid in one day. This reflected a lot of hard work by both the organizers and those who worked throughout the weekend. For those of you who have never participated in this Labor Day weekend project, I recommend that you put it on your 2022 calendar.
While in Angel Fire, Jenny Ward gave me a box of letters and thank you cards from Kim Tincher, principal, and children enrolled in Rainelle Elementary School in West Virginia. The letters thanked us for the money we donated earlier in the year, and expressed hope that we will be able to return in 2022. I regret that I didn’t see the box until our Saturday night dinner was over and everyone had left the building. I promise to bring the box of letters with me to Ontario in May.
Registration for RFTW 2022 opened on September 11, 2021. If you plan to ride with us in 2022, you need to register and sign a liability waiver. Early registration helps our planning efforts. We would like to know how many riders to expect in Ontario, and how far each plans to ride.
There have been some changes in our Central Route Leadership Team. After many years of dedicated service, George Creasy decided to step down as Fuel Team Leader. Fortunately for us, Phillip (X-Chief) Garcia stepped up and offered to take the reins for 2022. Phillip has made the run seven times, five serving on our fuel team. He had been selected to serve as Assistant Fuel Team Leader in 2020, but as you know, we didn’t go that year or the following. Phillip comes highly recommended by George. Anyone wishing to serve on the Fuel Team should reach out to Phillip at philgbike@gmail.com.
An additional change in Leadership occurred in our Chaplain Team, due to the passing of Rupert Harrell. Duane Gryder will serve us in 2022 as Senior Chaplain. I would like to extend my thanks to both Phillip and Duane for accepting these new positions.
Stay Safe. God Bless the United States of America.
Tom “Boomps” Miller
RFTW Central Route Coordinator
It is with a heavy heart that I pass on the news that RFTW’s beloved chaplain, Rupert Harrell, passed away due to cancer and the effects of Agent Orange. Many of you may not know that Rupert made it his mission to work with fellow Viet Nam veterans, even escorting some back to Viet Nam to facilitate their healing. Rupert was proud of his service with the 101st Airborne, and was the recipient of two bronze starts and two purple hearts. In every sense of the word, Rupert was a true hero. He was my friend, and I will miss him.
